Gone
by Unproductive-Fangirl
Summary: Just a short piece where Astrid wakes up early to think about Stormfly and how much she misses her.


The island was to quite. The songs of birds sounded foreign, as many had been scared off while the dragons were there. The waves could be heard clear and steady, no irregular splashing. There were no squakes or chatter. No flapping of leather wings. No clatter of claws on stone. Just the sounds of nature, which had been covered up by dragons for so long that it sometimes took a moment to place what they were.

Taking a deep breath, Astrid closed her eyes, trying to focus. Trying to pretend for just a moment that things were back to the way they were. That the dragons were back. It was no good though. It was far to quite for even one dragon to be in the village, let alone an island full.

Letting out the breath, she opened her eyes again, looking out at the village around her. It had all been coming together incredibly quick, and she couldn't help but wonder if part of the reason was because they all wanted something to focus on. That's what she had been doing. Throwing herself into everything she could to try and distract herself from the absence of dragons, but even that was hard. It was really easy for a thought to slip into her head about how much easier it would be to build a roof with Stormfly there, or something similar, that she would have to push away quickly before it overcame her.

Now though, in the early hours before most people had woken up, she let those feelings take over. Astrid didn't cry. Most people thought it was because of how tough she was, and she hadn't bothered to correct them, but that wasn't the reason. She just didn't. Some of the times she had come closest though, was sitting out in front of their house, watching the sunrise, and thinking about Stormfly.

The wind picked up for a moment, slipping through her hair in a way that was nothing at all like flying, but just similar enough for a feeling of nostalgia to sweep through her. The loss of flight was nothing compared to the loss of Stormfly, but was still awful. For as long as she could remember there had been a desire to get as high and go as fast as she could. While Hiccup loved flying because of the opportunities it opened in terms of exploring, Astrid loved it simply for the thrill. For the speed, the sharp angles, the possibility of falling but part of you just knowing that you won't, and having complete confidence that even if she did Stormfly would catch her. There was a rush of adrenalin that came with flying, that she had never gotten from anything else. That she feared she would never get again.

Once and awhile, if she got up early enough, she would climb up as high as she could on the island. No matter how many times she tried though, no matter how high she got it was never the same. The wind rushed past, but there wasn't the slight irregularities made by the beating of Stormfly's wings, or the steady rise and fall of her breathing.

Far worse than the loss of flight though, was the loss of her dragon. She hadn't even realized how much she relied on Stormfly until she suddenly wasn't there. There were so many times she planned her day in her head, only to realize everything was going to take twice as long as she was used to. There was so much she needed to adjust to.

Than there was just missing her. The feeling of emptiness when she realized she didn't need to set aside time to wash Stormfly. Or when Astrid looked out the window during a storm and there was no sign of her dragon splashing in the puddles or flying through the rain. No jumping out of the way to avoid being knocked over by an excited tail. Even jokes about not having to pick up after dragons anymore landed flat.

There were soft noises from inside the house, breaking the quiet of the morning. Sighing, Astrid glanced towards the door, knowing that the only reason for the noise would be Hiccup getting up, which meant her moments of thinking about Stormfly and times past were over. This whole thing was the worst for Hiccup, there was no question. If the loss of Stormfly had left her empty, she couldn't imagine what it was like for Hiccup to be without Toothless. Someone needed to be there for him, and to pick up the slack of leading when he needed time alone. That someone had to be her.

That's what warriors did, pushed away their own fears and feelings to protect others. It's what Chieftesses did, looking out for the good of the village and stepping up when the Chief couldn't. And it's what wives did, helping their husbands through hard times and being there for the bad as well as the good.

Technically they weren't married, but for all intents and purposes they might as well be, so taking a deep breath, Astrid pushed herself up. For a moment she just closed her eyes, letting the wind blow through her hair again. Then she pushed away the thoughts of Stormfly and the emotions that came with them.

Turning towards the house, she forced herself to smile a bit and open the door.

"Took you long enough- I was starting to think you were going to sleep through the whole day."


End file.
